[13][14] Similar to previous entries, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 consist of two major loops of gameplay, overworld exploration and battles.

[17] Additionally, the Dream World makes a return from Pokémon Black and White, however, it was shut down on January 14, 2014, alongside all other services for fifth generation games.

[18] A new game mechanic introduced in Black 2 and White 2 is the "PokéStar Studios" side-game, where the player character participates in the filming of a movie involving Pokémon and other actors.

[19] Another new mechanic is the Pokémon World Tournament, where the player battles powerful trainers from the previous games in the series, ranging from Gym Leaders Brock, Misty, Volkner, and Giovanni to Champions Cynthia, Steven, and Lance.

They live in the new Aspertia City, and receive their starter Pokémon from Bianca, an NPC that served as one of the player's rivals in Black and White.

The plot of Black 2 and White 2 features the antagonistic Neo Team Plasma, whom the player first encounters while running an errand, and later when travelling to the first other major city where the team announces its plans to take over the world and steal others' Pokémon in front of the player, the rival, and new Gym Leader Roxie.

The battle reaches its climax in the Giant Chasm, where the player discovers Colress is working with Neo Team Plasma to learn more about the capabilities of Pokémon, and that Ghetsis is planning to use Kyurem, the "empty" Pokémon that is left over from when Zekrom and Reshiram split apart hundreds of years ago, by filling it with his ambition to rule the world.

After defeating Neo Team Plasma, the player is finally able to battle the Elite Four and the new Unova League Champion, Iris, and complete the main story.

Also, after completion of the game, the player can battle former Unova League Champion Alder, Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia, the former Striaton City Gym Leaders, and take on the Black Tower or White Treehollow challenges in Black City or White Forest, respectively.

During development, the theme Takao Unno raised for Black and White 2 was resonance, which led the staff to bringing up the idea for 100 people to be able to play together through the Entralink.

The official soundtrack of the game titled Nintendo DS Pokémon Black 2 · White 2 Super Music Complete[f] was released in Japan on July 25, 2012.

[30][31] Famitsu magazine awarded Black 2 and White 2 a point total of 36/40, slightly lower than their perfectly scoring predecessors.

[34] Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard also praised the new features, saying they "work well with the Pokémon formula," but was disappointed by “lack of innovation”.